Bessemer Township set to improve gravel roads

THIS GRAVEL portion of Koski Road, along with a gravel piece of Anvil Road, both in Bessemer Township, will be paved as part of an $85,000 road construction project expected to be completed this month. The project was approved by the township board last month.

BESSEMER TOWNSHIP - The Bessemer Township Board recently approved a construction project to improve four of its gravel roads at a cost of nearly $85,000.

The four roads to undergo construction are Chokecherry and Bluebird lanes, a small piece of Second Street and portions of Anvil and Koski roads.

The portions of Anvil and Koski roads, slated for paving, will be the most expensive at slightly more than $46,000.

The work on the remaining routes will involve putting down two layers of chip seal, which is something like a mixture of tar and gravel, said Bessemer Township Supervisor Jeff Randall.

"That double chip seal goes on roads that don't have a whole lot of heavy traffic on it," Randall said. "It helps keep the shape of the road, keeps potholes from forming and is very good dust control; and it can be paved over, so it's a nice alternative."

The Gogebic County Road Commission typically has its own employees work on projects under $100,000, but this year they have hired outside crews.

Northwoods Paving, a hot mix asphalt contractor based in Ashland, Wis ., will complete the Anvil-Koski project, and Fahrner Asphalt, with corporate offices in Clover, Wis ., will do the double chip seal work for the three other roads.

The construction is expected to begin soon and be completed toward the end of the month.

"That's always taken with a grain of salt, depending obviously on weather," Randall said.

The schedule of other projects under way by the two contractors may affect the completion of the Bessemer Township roads, as well as other problems that can arise with construction, such as equipment malfunctions.